SOURCE: detnews.com

The World Series of Poker and several other stops on the tournament circuit often hold special "shootout" style events. These are among my favorite games to play.

In a traditional Hold'em tournament, if there are, say, 100 entrants, play starts with 10 tables of 10 players each. As soon as 10 players are eliminated, tables are broken up and the remaining competitors fill in seats at the other nine tables. This process continues until there's just one table left, and one player who wins the tournament.

A shootout works differently.

A shootout might start with 10 tables of 10 players each, but these tables don't break down as players are eliminated. Instead, each table plays down until one player remains at each of the 10 tables. Those 10 players then move to the final table where each starts with an equal amount of chips. In my opinion, shootouts require more skill than traditional tournaments.

To advance in shootouts, players are forced to play well under a variety of circumstances: full table play, short-handed play, three-handed play, and, ultimately, heads-up play. In a traditional tournament, just hanging in there and trying to survive can get you all the way to the final table. Not so in a shootout, because all 10 players are in a must-win situation and have to play accordingly.

That's the biggest mistake I see players make in these events. Their mindset is often on surviving, since that's their normal approach to traditional tournament play. In a shootout, however, second place through tenth place pay exactly the same amount -- zilch!

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